Here is the infamous "TL Diet".

Putting the TL on a diet (click here)

 

OK so you have 8.0" rims without a drop right? Hmmm I think a drop with these tires may cause a rub. The tightest part you are talking about; is it on the upper part of the inner part of the tire (the corner or shoulder of the tire) or is it flat against the inner side of the tire with the wheel well?

 

Hey, rockyfeller, check this calculator out. It shows the calculated change in the inner and outer clearance for a given Wheel plus Tire size and offset.

http://www.rims-n-tires.com/rt_specs.jsp

 

Ya i've seen that.....so isn't 265/35/18 the closest in outer diameter to stock 235/45/17?? even closer than Acura's own A-Spec'd equipped 245/40/18? I have to check out that inner/outer clearance once I get my car dropped.

 

what the calculator told me is the speedo will be more accurate than with the standard A-Spec and there will be 10mm less clearance than A-Spec on either side of the tire. I doubt any of that will pose a problem. The 265 should wrap on a 8.5" rim better too?

 

I had put a 295/30/18 on the rear of my TL on Volk racing gt-u 18x10.5 fitment for an mkiv supra. Fit nearly flush and looked rediculously tough

I like the pulled tire look, but sometimes you take what you get because its nearly impossible to expect any consistency amongst tire manufacturers... It sucks thoroughly.

Sorry if this is bitty, I've awoken to my phone, been unable to sleep, and started posting away on the phone, so please excuse any spelling or grammatical mistakes...

Nice car
take care
mark

 

So 295s fit on your TL with a 10.5" rim???? Daym! Offset of 45 with no rubbing? Unheard of man! Any fender mods or rolling done? Pics?

 

I have a couple pics, but it was in the rear only... Strange enough, it was rolled plenty as it was. My car is not modified in any other way. I will not be able to post pictures from my phone. If you want them as well, or would like to post them for me, please email me at 722ish@gmail.com

Otherwise, I'll try to remember as soon as I can get in front of my computer.

 

722ish,

I'm truly intrigue and would certainly love to see some pics of the 295s and the fender roll job.
Did you have it done or was it like that when you got the car? Also, could you clarify what you mean by "the pulled tire look"? I'm still pretty ignorant about some of the lingo.

 

I'm currently running 245/40-18 BFGs on my '04 aspec rims (8.5"). Based on this thread I'm going 265/35-18 BFGs! Thanks for the posts about this! I'll try and get pics before and after and come back with an update. Should be in the next month.

 

So, Finally I was able to put on my wheels, unfortunately we had another 9" of snow yesterday, so I won't be able to drive it. I decided to go with the 255/35/18, and they look awesome.
http://www.cardomain.com/my/edit_page?page_id=3038111

 

Linky no worky ^^

Login required.

 

Sorry,I gave you the wrong link.

http://www.cardomain.com/ride/3038111

 

So, what do you guys think?

 

Great thread....apart from section width and sidewall height, the 265s have the closest dimensions to the OEM size than either the 245/40 or 255/40/18s. The only question that I have is because of the 1/2" or so reduced sidewall height, is the ride more harsh?...especially if lowered?

 

Its to bad you are unhappy about the math, but the math says these 255/40/17's with a 9.9 inch tread width puts down about an inch more rubber then the 265/35/18 at 9.0 inches. Additionally the 40 sidewall is a bit more confortable then the 35.

 

interseting indeed. I might consider increasing my new a-spec 18x8.5 to 255's. Anyone running a-specs 18x8.5 w/ 255 tires?

 

I'd be interested to hear any follow up regarding wear with the 265/35s.....

 

Silver bullet,
Any go with the 265's. I'm thinking about ordering the 8.5 gunmetals off of ebay and I would like to get some more pictures/opinions on running the 265/35/18 setup.
slim

 

I just wanted to put my 2 cents down...having 265s have only one positive, more protection for your rims. Come on man...look at the picture of your tires...the edges dont even touch the ground til it gets an inch inside of the tire. Plus your sidewalls basically concave inwards...how can that help with cornering?? Think about it. Im glad you tried it and congrats, but really it doesnt fit and tell you the truth it doesnt look that great...not bad, but not great. Im not trying to hurt your feelings, but I wanted to let people know this is not the right way unless you want the added protection of your rims with the loss of performance and tread wear. I know you dont care about tread wear, but seriously unless youre retarded who wants to get 15k out of a tire when they can get 35k with the same tire?? doesnt make sense does it? you will also get less braking power because you arent putting all of the tire on the ground because the edge of the tire curls up...so essentially you are not using your tires to its full potential and overpaying for something you dont really need. (but if you like to waste money be my guest cause its not my money you are wasting.)

I drive a 2005 BMW M3 and I work on my car all the time and do countless hours of research on my car and many others. My wheels are staggered but if I had 245 on 18x8, I would still kick your ass on any track. I burn out all the time and pull couple fish tail Us, and I get about 25k out of my back tires (rwd on my car). But my fronts get about 50k which is insane because I drive the s*** out of my car. By the way my set up is front - 18x8 245/40/18 rear - 18x9 265/35/18.

 

Love to see pix and get your impressions of them!

 

You're idea of a burnout must be different than mine. 25K on a set of tires you "burn out all the time" on is impossible.

 

I just rotated the 265's again. My firerstone guy comented about haw flat and even the ware is. Yes firerstone! He said he was impressed! I love the air pressure monitor in our dash. I keep em balenced and rotated. The tires are totaly flat across. I really like the ride they give!!! These are "THE BEST" tires I have ever had.

 

SO U HAVE 265/35/17???? PICS?

 

Too late! But good info to know nonetheless....thanks!
Perhaps my next set of tires will be 265s.

 

Read the thread....265/35/18...and there's pix on the first page.

 

So how have these worn so far......

I plan to get 265/40/17

Well Its in my head that I want to do it....Im going to be dropped on comptechs so not sure about the rubbing issues...

 

Check post #102 above. Spiritman states that he just had the 265's rotated and the serviceman commented on how well the wear pattern looked. By the way, when I say "on how well the wear pattern looked", that means a good thing that the tires are wearing evenly across the tire's width.

 

I didnt see that post....my apologies...

 

Yes these are the best tires. But they are the wrong size

 

But has proven here, it works and they are giving the OP what he expected...

 

I've been running 255/40/18 for the past three years. IMO a perfect match for the car compared to 235's and 245's on the 04 A-spec wheel

 

My current BFG's have lasted longer than expected. I'm back researching again between 255/35/18 or 265/35/18. This thread makes me want to go 265.

 

Not to burst anyone's bubbles, but the issue of putting on tires that are too wide, is NOT a wear issue, it's a SAFETY issue. Referring back to Dunlop's clarification, the issue is that by putting on tires that are too wide for the rim, is shifting the flex point of the sidewall to a point that the tire WAS NOT DESIGNED to handle. The tire may still wear evenly, but the sidewalls may also overheat, leading to either a blow-out or the tread separating, or both.

 

BFG g-force sports 265/35-18 ordered today. I'll get pix of before and after in the next week. stay tuned!

BTW: I'm running the original 2004 a-spec rims which are 8.5" rims.

 

I wish you would've looked around for others using the Sports. They start off quiet but get very loud around 5,000 miles. The sidewalls are abnormally stiff but don't have great response compared to some tires with softer sidewalls. The rubber starts cracking after a year. They lose all sense of traction after a year. Mine still have a bit of tread left after close to 20,000 miles but they've become twitchy under hard braking (not an alignment issue) and traction just isn't that good.

I just ordered the Nitto NT05 which is a far superior tire in every category for about the same price. I'm just telling you this in case you have time to cancel the order.

I do think you made the right choice in the 265s, especially on an 8.5" rim. I've monitored my stock 235s for temperature change from hot to cold and have seen no difference in temp change with either set of 255s. There is no a sidewall flexing and overheating issue. I've shot them with an infared heat gun and no issues whatsoever.

 

Dude, you posted this for DISCUSSION. Let people say if they think you're stupid. Take it in stride or don't post something that starts "they said it couldn't be done." That obviously invokes controversy. And until you put some miles on this setup I'm going to say the jury is still out, law student. I hope you don't cause any accidents over a marginal, possible, maybe slightly better look. If you think that looks better than a properly fit tire. Which I happen to not. Go ahead, lump me in the crybaby/old lady group. I dont care.

 

There is no safety issue. People who say there is are people who have never run them. It gets old after a while. Watch some of the guys who road race or auto cross and you will see much more extreme fitment than a 265 tire on an 8" rim. I find if funny how stretching is cool but this is not. Stretching is 10X as bad for the tire and safety. The whole footprint issue is funny too. There is no issue with all the rubber touching the ground and the sides are not "pulled up".

 

^QFT! Besides looking silly, fitting a too narrow tire on a too wide rim is far more unsafe. Just wait for that bead to break away from the wheel under cornering...

 

I think the fit is better. Pics below compare 245/40-18 BFG Sports to 265/35-18's. Original rim came with 235/40-18 if you are comparing sizes.